The Path Of Fate- Chapter 21
Sei guided Kouta to her desk, removed her arm as he sat in one of the leather chairs. She moved around the desk and sat in her seat, smiling at him.
"So. You're going to get the job done, eh?"
Kouta nodded. "Yes, I believe I will."
"I have other men on it as well. They say they are close to finding her, and I believe them, but time is of the essence. The more people I can get on this job, the better. Regardless of cost, I need this girl as soon as possible."
Kouta nodded again, and leaned back in his chair. "So what am I working with? What tools do I have?"
Sei lifted a folder from a pile on her desk, and slid it across the desk to him.
"There are multiple pictures contained within, a short write-up of everything we know, and a USB with video clips of everything that happened."
Kouta glanced at it, then raised his eyes to Sei.
"What is the possibility that she is already out of the city? The country? She's been gone for quite a while now."
"Out of the city...we honestly don't know. But we do know that she is in this country. She can't possibly escape without the proper documentation. She would be picked up by law enforcement instantly. Assuming this, we have been keeping a check on all the ways out of this country and the corresponding agencies to see if anyone matching her description has been picked up."
Kouta nodded in approval. "Good. Makes it a bit easier. If she did in fact come from the time period you indicate, then she is no stranger to travelling, and may have gotten quite far on foot."
"I doubt it." Sei interjected. "She was badly wounded when she left here, and no hospitals have any records of someone matching her description being admitted for care. She got help somewhere in this vicinity, I'm sure of it."
Kouta eyed her for a moment, then dropped his gaze to the folder.
"I'm merely exhausting every possible scenario, to make sure we haven't missed anything." He said.
Sei nodded. "I understand. Our main goal is apprehension. You understand the reward being offered is proportionate to our desire to have her, yes?"
Kouta nodded slowly. There was a moment of silence.
"It is indeed a hefty sum." He said. "Although I'm not sure I'm too motivated by that."
Sei chuckled softly. "A man not motivated by money? I'm not sure I follow."
Kouta grinned devilishly and leaned forward, elbows on the edge of the desk. He fixed Sei with a confident gaze, and shook his head slowly.
"Oh, I am indeed motivated by money, and what you are offering for the capture of the girl is indeed a king's ransom, but it is paltry in comparison to the money I will make over the long period of time that I do business with this company. You will have use for me, provided I return good results, I assume?"
Sei, in contrast to Kouta, leaned back in her comfortable chair. Chin up, she gazed down at Kouta. "Hmm. We will just have to wait and see, now won't we?"
Kouta laughed, and nodded. "We will indeed. However, my boss doesn't recommend just anyone, you know. He's a very powerful man with a lot of reputation on the line. I think I can be of good use to you."
Sei hummed softly. "Well. If I have a use for you, I will certainly put you to work. I will also recommend you to others in need of your services - if you can perform. However, I believe this has less to do with money, and more to do with other personal goals. Am I right, Kouta?"
Kouta's eyes widened almost imperceptibly, but gave nothing else away. He knew that denying it would be instant proof, so he merely smiled.
"You're a smart woman. If that is the conclusion you draw, then there is nothing I can say to change your mind. But it would be...unwise to assume that allying myself with you is the only chance I have to accomplish any personal goals that you assume I may have."
Sei grinned openly. "A very devious response. I would expect nothing less from you."
She considered letting him know that she knew about her employee's relationship with him, but decided that the more cards she kept close to her chest, the better. After all, the smartest reveal the least. There was no need to prove how much she knew. That would be asking for trouble.
"Anyway, the entire project is on standby until this girl is found. It is costing me more money than I'd like, and the sooner this affair is over and done with, the better."
Kouta took that as his cue to leave, and he got up. Picking up the folder in his left hand, he shook Sei's right, and grinned at her.
"I'll knock this one out soon enough. Trust me. Everything will be fine."
Sei smiled, as she walked with him to her office door.
"Let's save the hero talk for the results, shall we?"
He bowed gracefully, before exiting. Sei watched him walk toward the elevator, before slowly shutting her door.
It would certainly be interesting to see what kind of results he got, she thought.
She would just have to wait and see.
000
Kouta got back into his car, and started it. The engine was cold, so he waited a few minutes for it to warm up.
While he waited, he pulled out his phone and texted Amy.
'Hey, you still awake?'
He shut his phone, and turned on his wipers. It was raining heavily now, and it was late. There was minimal traffic on the road, and he thought idly about having some fun on the way home.
A moment later, his phone vibrated.
'Yeah, of course. Are you coming home tonight? I'm just messing around online.'
He grinned. 'Yeah, on my way home. Sorry for working so late. See you soon :3'
He closed his phone, and put it between his legs on his seat. Looking over his shoulder for traffic, he put it in gear and accelerated hard. Instantly, his wheels locked together, and his car started sliding sideways on the slippery road.
He applied a bit of counter-steering, and brought it back in line as he shifted quickly. Dropping the heavy clutch, his wheels again lost grip. Rear end sliding out, he stayed on the throttle as he accelerated hard. When it felt like he was going to go completely sideways, he lifted off the gas, and up-shifted again. With a jerk, his wheels caught traction and his car whipped back into a straight line.
Grinning widely, he idly thought about installing a bigger turbo. The car would be nearly unstreetable, but that didn't bother him in the slightest.
Day-dreaming, he geared down for a right turn.
000
Amy closed the chat window as she heard footsteps outside her door. Leaning back, she yawned and stretched, as the footsteps stopped. A second later, and the handle turned. The door swung open as she swung around in her chair, and she smiled tiredly at Kouta.
"Hey, how are you?" She asked.
He shrugged. "Bit tired. Wanna go to bed and cuddle?" There was a hopeful tone in his voice.
She hummed softly. "Sure. Where were you?"
He glanced at her as he kicked off his shoes. "Working." He said. He left it at that. Unfortunately, she wouldn't.
"Working where?" She tried to keep her tone light, but she really wanted to know.
"Anywhere my work takes me." He said evasively. "There's a lot of travelling in my job, you know that."
She hummed once more, and decided against pushing it. "Okay. Let's go to bed."
He smiled at her, and put his arm around her shoulders as he walked with her toward her bedroom.
"How was work today?" He asked. She shrugged. "Not bad. Same as always, really."
"Well, at least it's steady. I envy that kind of job."
Amy pushed open her door, and pulled him toward the bed.
"Thought you liked the changing work environment?"
"Yeah, but for once I would like knowing that I go into work, I do what I've always done and know how to do, and I go home. There's so many unknowns in my line of work."
Amy smiled. "Well, little too late to change career paths now, isn't it?"
'Moreso than you think.' He silently agreed.
She pulled him into bed, and fell to the side to avoid landing on her. Immediately she rolled on top of him, and giggled.
"You tired?" She asked.
He smirked. "Maybe."
Amy giggled quietly. "Well. Let's see if I can change that..."
000
Meg sighed as she rubbed her tired eyes. This book had swiftly gotten a lot more difficult, and she struggled to grasp the formation of sentences. At best she could form rough, basic sentences that barely conveyed her questions or concerns. There were so many questions she had no answers to, and it was discouraging.
She glanced over at Jo, sleeping peacefully next to her, and slowly her resolve hardened. If there was one reason good enough to keep trying, it was lying next to her.
As badly as she wanted to toss aside the book and cuddle, cuddling didn't make her learn new languages. Besides...things had been awkward, kind of touch-and-go with Jo the last few days. It felt like she was slowly withdrawing from Meg, and Meg could feel unease building in the pit of her stomach. It seemed like they were headed for a confrontation in the next few weeks over something Meg couldn't even begin to understand.
If things continued to deteriorate, Meg had no idea what she would do.
She bit her lip. If only Jo would tell her what was wrong. She had a feeling that the language barrier had nothing to do with it. Even if they could communicate freely, Meg knew that Jo would still keep to herself. It was weird.
It concerned her. Something wasn't right.
Meg turned her attention back to the book, and re-read the page. Slowly, she began to make sense of the words.
She glanced at the clock on the bedside table. The red numbers glowed eerily at her.
3:16 AM.
She yawned, and closed the book. It was time to sleep. After work tomorrow, she should take Jo out somewhere, she thought. Try to cheer her up. Or do something with her. Anything, really, to get her out of the house. She wasn't sure what yet, and knew that she was pretty much broke, but she would find something.
She yawned once more, this time bringing tears to her eyes, and scooted down under the blankets. Turning to her left, she cuddled up close next to Jo and slipped an arm around her waist.
As it often did, her mind wondered about her sexuality, and her choice of "partner", but as quickly as it did, she replaced it with other thoughts.
Whatever kind of relationship she had going with this silver-haired seductive girl, she wasn't about to over-think and analyze it. Right now it filled a void she had never known existed, and these days kissing and cuddling with another girl was standard behaviour, wasn't it?
As long as the clothes stayed on...
A/N: Well, another one up. Reviews and comments are always appreciated, let me know what you think. As always, thank you for reading :)